The Crown Dissected

by Hugo Vickers

SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION'The most knowledgeable royal biographer on the planet' The Financial Times. Hugo Vickers is an acknowledged authority on the British Royal Family. He has commented on royal matters on television and radio since 1973 and worked as historical adviser on a number of films. He is the author of books on the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Andrew of Greece (Prince Philip's mother) and Queen Mary all of whom are featured in the popular Netflix show, The Crown. Now, in this sequel to The Truth & Fiction Vickers separates fact from fiction in season 3 of this television series. Episode-by-episode analysis dissects the plots, characterisation and historical detail in each storyline. Vickers tells us what really happened and what certainly did not happen. The Dissected also includes commentaries on seasons 1 and 2.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

104 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Hugo Vickers is a writer and broadcaster, who has written biographies of many twentieth century figures, including the Queen Mother, Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, a study of Greta Garbo, Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece, and his book, The Private World of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor was illustrated with pictures from their own collection. Mr Vickers’s book, The Kiss: The Story of an Obsession won the 1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction.

Reviews

[Meg]

When I watched the show the Crown- especially the interactions with Princess Margaret I wondered how much of the story was true. I grabbed this book to see what an expert in the British royalty would have to say. From the introduction he states- "Fiction should help us understand the truth, not pervert it." His book is basically a friendly essay and list of all the perversions that take place in each episode of the Crown. I figured a couple things would be out of order/off- I didn't expect so much to be changed to make the show more "interesting".
If I was a REAL fan (I am not)- I might rewatch the show with the book close by. It was good to hear that Prince Philip wasn't so upset about being "just" a prince. And that Margaret's life wasn't ruined when she was asked to wait 2 years before marrying Pete Townsend. Drama- I get it, but not when the show is supposed to be sharing the lives of the British family with the world.

Read while watching The Crown.

M&L Reading Challenge 2024: a book about a queen

[Johannes]

"The Crown" was, and still is, one of Netflix's most populaire and expensive show, it hits all the right notes on a period drama. The problem does start, however when people confuss fiction with facts. Yes, the producers did a lot of research, spent a lot of money to create the right context but sometimes they create drama for the sake of it. And as Vickers rightly notes more than once, there is an agenda at times. The show also suffers from a full change of its casts every 2 season, and I also happen to agree with Vickers that Olivia Colman wasn't at her best by playing the queen, they also relied a lot in creating Diana drama but at least chose to set aside the "Saint Diana narrative" for once.

All in all, it is an interesting dissection although I didn't care much for orders and the right collars, of which Hugo Vickers knows a lot but even royal aficionados like me don't care that much for those.

[Trillian]

Fairly flimsy excuse for a book, consisting mostly of recaps of the episode followed by 'the ribbon he wore was too wide and on the wrong side'. I was left with the general impression that the show must be fairly accurate, if there is nothing more to criticise than what is in this book! Still, it's a quick read and there are some interesting notes about where the TV series has fudged the dates of real life events. At times it reveals more about the author's personal preferences than the show itself.

[Ashley]

I really enjoyed the series "The Crown" on Netflix, and I wanted to know how true it all was (if you weren't googling various things about it while watching are you even watching?). Vickers has been considered the royal expert for as long as this particular set of royals has been around (so basically, for forever), and reading his commentary was a delight. He was the stuffy and incensed British man I had hoped for, and I very much enjoyed his commentary and summary of it. If you watched "The Crown" and want to know how true it all is, you should definitely check this out. Hint: They got most of it wrong, and Vickers will tell you how and why.

[William Hanson]

Fascinating, cutting and often hilarious

While The Crown may have its lavish production, good character acting and griping music it does play fast and loose with the history and protocol. Use the series as a springboard to read more and learn about the real events. Hugo Vickers’ books are an excellent start and this short but fun work cuts through the Netflix series with cutting gravitas.

[Robin]

I was watching the Crown, as one does, and I kept thinking, how much of this is real and how much is pure fiction? I've done my share of googling on the subject, so when this book popped up in my Kindle recommendations for next to nothing, I got it. And it delivered. Vickers' opinion is that it's a bit more truthful about the political stuff than about the characters. Which made me feel better, because the Queen isn't actually cold and unfeeling, among other things.

[Paige D]

The Crown Dissected is an indispensable guide for anyone seeking to understand the truth behind Netflix’s hit series. Hugo Vickers combines deep knowledge of the British Royal Family with precise historical analysis, separating fact from fiction in a clear and engaging way. This book is both enlightening and entertaining, making it essential reading for royal enthusiasts, media critics, and anyone curious about the real stories behind the dramatized events of The Crown.

[E G Melby]

Meh

[Sem]

Vickers must have found the writing of this book hugely cathartic.

[Julie]

3.5 stars

[Elle Paxton]

3.5/5

[Lisa]

I tended to agree with most of what Mr. Vickers hated about The Crown. I stopped watching after Season 3 as I could see it had veered into tabloid nonsense & fiction. This is a very good disection of all that is wrong with the series from someone who's very close to institution of the BRF so would be well aware of everything they got correct (not much) & everything they got wrong (mostly everything).

[Peggy]

I loved watching The Crown and wondered how much was made up, so I was anxious to read this book. The author knows the Royal Family very well, and goes through each of the three seasons, describing every episode, and practically every scene. He's not very happy with the television version, but that was to be expected. Many of his criticisms are small details. Others are fairly major. He doesn't appreciate the changes which were made, presumably to produce a better story, but on the other hand, this is a real family, still living and shouldn't a "biography" of famous people be accurate? Can a cinematic version be made of an ongoing true-life story? The details in the book are almost overwhelming. I wish he could have had a summary of the most serious changes/errors/omissions.

[Alecia]

I was given this book as a birthday gift. This is only for fans of the TV series, The Crown. The author is an authority on the British Royal Family, and for the life of me, I do not understand why he wasn't hired as an advisor. He certainly finds minor (mostly in terms of royal outfits) and historical timeline faults with almost every episode, along with his opinions on what really happened and what definitely could not have happened. And that is what this book is comprised of. Other than that, it would be of little interest to anyone but the most diehard and dedicated fans of the series.

[Daniel Kukwa]

It's a slim volume with a bit too little substance and a few too many personal quirks from Hugo Vickers (his attitude to sexual royals on TV is almost quaint for the 21st century...never mind any other century). But for what it is, I enjoyed it: this is a lovely quick-and-dirty nitpicker's guide to "The Crown" and it comes in useful for the historical backstory.

[Kylie Percival]

It would be kind to say this book is somewhat tedious. The end might have better served if the author had concentrated on the larger issues of historical accuracy and then dealt separately with minor issues of chronology, location and costume. A very short book that took me a long time to finish.

[Mel]

My copy covered series 1, 2, 3 and 4 and was an easy and quick to read potted history of the modern British monarchy. You could read this without watching The Crown, but the reader might wonder why only certain events were included as opposed to more of an overview.

[Becky Galambos]

This book was an interesting read. By a celebrated Royal historian who has written many royal bios and books about various aspects of the monarchy, this book compares the storyline of the crown with actual history.

[Lisa]

#14 of 130 books pledged to read during 2020

[Kt Dixon]

Really good book, but he is a little pedantic in some areas

[Kathleen Kirchner]

What I love about the series